


One Blue Bird Among Them

by Prince_Something



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-11 12:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7892338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Something/pseuds/Prince_Something
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Medieval Times AU; Many years ago, Good King David ruled Arcadia with fairness and conviction. The kingdom saw prosper and harmony for decades on end. But as his health declines, Princess Maxine Caulfield must step to the throne. Discontent with the change in leadership, some have taken to the shadows to form a resistance. Now, faced with rising political and domestic tensions, can Max find a way to unite the kingdom? Or will she be forced to watch it burn?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cardsharps and Caltrops

The Winds blew wispy cirrus clouds on that day. In Arcadia, many religious sects hail the clouds and their many inflections as messengers of the Seven Winds. Stratus clouds indicated that all was normal, dancing across the blue expanse spreading their tranquil vibrations. Cumulus clouds normally proceeded the arrival of a storm, or some other weather phenomena as they rumbled across the sky.

But cirrus clouds, so rare, their wispy forms drifting like some kind of ethereal horse tails, signaled that monumental change was just around the corner.

#### 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The gentle sun cascaded through the sylvan spread of Jevrath’s Woods, better known as Jevrath’s Labyrinth. The golden rays glistened off Kate’s light armor, adorned with the Caulfield family crest on the ornately chest piece; a phoenix perched on a stone, clutching a snake in its talons. Kate trailed dutifully behind the vision of beauty she knew as Her Highness Princess Maxine (“Max”) Caulfield. This fine day she found herself adorned in deep red leggings with some black flats and a finely decorated olive green tunic, bound by a black leather belt that carried her shortsword. 

Max turned to face Kate, her short chestnut locks swaying as she did, and said, “Kate, how’s it going back there?”  
Kate snapped herself from the trance she found herself in when she saw her cute smile and proceeded to respond, “All goes well, your Majesty.”  
Max chuckled as she did a quick about face to fully present herself to Kate. She walked a peppy backwards step as she said, “Kate, how many times have I told you? You can call me ‘Max’, it’s no disrespect.”  
Kate felt a dusting of pink come across the cheeks her normally calm countenance as she replied, “With all due respect Max-your Majesty, I’m simply doing as the King, your father, has instructed me to.”  
“Boooooo.” Max playfully jeered, making even Kate crack a small smile.  
“Objections from the peanut gallery aside,” Kate began as she cast a quick glance to the sky above, “it’s difficult to tell with the trees, but I believe we should be to the next town within the hour, and then Fort Blackdown by noon tomorrow.”  
“Excellent!” a satisfied Max responded. “Refresh my memory, what’s the next town called?”  
“Redbay.” Kate replied. “It’s a small settlement with a fair mix of elves, dwarves, commoners, and more that either rest or live there before they head further north into Pariya for mining.”  
“Aw, I thought it was Iceview…” Max moped, letting her lithe body droop ever so slightly.  
“Nope, sorry.” a reassuring Kate shrugged in response.  
Max heaved a sigh as she glanced slightly upward. “I don’t have much time anymore, Kate. I have to learn these town names before I take the throne. What kind of leader would I be if I can’t even tell my people where they’re from?” she said wistfully.  
“D-Don’t worry, your Majesty.” a slightly frantic Kate replied. “You’ll get it, just give it time.”  
“I suppose…” Max groaned.  
“Besides, this whole journey is about just that.” Kate chipped in. “You’re negotiating your first official treaty as Princess! I’m sure you’ll do fantastic!  
Max gave Kate a gentle smile. “Kate, you’re too good for me and the rest of the world.”  
If Kate wasn’t blushing before, she was now, and desperately trying to hide it. “N-n-not at all, I’m just another servant, content to do her very best to serve.”  
Max couldn’t help but laugh at the stiffness of Kate’s response. She turned herself back around in time to spot a large, relatively flat boulder along the left side of the road. She pointed to it as she inquired, “Want to take a rest?”  
Kate shrugged and adjusted her cinnamon locks that she had up in a bun right now. “I don’t see why not. We’re making good time.”  
“Perfect!” Max remarked. And with that she grabbed Kate’s gloved hand and made a mad dash for the granite paradise.  
  
But something wasn’t right. Kate couldn’t quite put her finger on it. What was it? Kate’s eyes narrowed as she carefully scanned her surroundings.  
_‘Something…something…’_ Kate thought to herself as she ran the breadth of the situation. She eyed the tree adjacent to the rock and noticed something about 20 feet up. _’Why does that one branch hang slightly lower than the others?’_ Her eyes fell to the ground and she caught something else. _‘The dust…it’s ever so slight, but it’s not falling as thick in that one stretch…oh no…’_  
Kate tugged at Max’s hand. “Max, wait!”  
But it was too late. Max realized it as soon as her foot hit the tripwire and she began to fall forward, taking Kate with her. The fall was broken by the rude upward impact of a particularly coarse rope net that engulfed the Princess and her knight. The crisp forest breeze rushed through their hair as they were jerked upwards before coming to an abrupt halt halt. They found themselves about level with the branch Kate had spotted earlier, with Max and Kate tightly pushed against opposite ends of the net, staring down who they could only assume was their captor.  
The captor in question was a long, handsome woman. Sharp jawline that ran the course of her perfect complexion, complemented by unimaginably deep blue eyes and lips that looked like they told pretty lies. She was dressed in vagabond apparel, tight, dark brown pants complemented by a long-sleeved black top and tunic with gold buttons, held together by a black belt with a glistening gold buckle. But gaudy accessories aside, what stuck out most was her wavy, brilliantly blue hair that fell from beneath her low profile brown hat.  
  
She pushed herself up with her particularly strong looking pair of hands that were currently wearing a pair of discrete dark black gauntlets that had peculiar-looking gray fingertips.  
“Well, well, well,” the captor mused in a velvety tone as she rose, “what have we here?”  
“Coward!” Kate growled, fumbling and pulling at the ropes.  
“Never liked ‘coward’, personally,” the captor jested, “Try ‘snake’! Sounds more dangerous, _sexier_.” She strutted along the expense of the branch as Kate continued to struggle.  
“What do you want from us?” Max shrieked, having finally adjusted herself to what could be called “comfortable” given the current situation.  
“Glad you asked, doe eyes.” the captor quipped. “You and cinnamon bun there are hand over any and all items of a precious nature real nice-like, then, I’m gonna leave you dangling there for some other poor sap to find you while I strut my happy ass to the nearest bar and get utterly _demolished_.” she wrapped one arm around the trunk and did a quick dip move to demonstrate passing out while cracking a chuckle.  
“Sounds fun.” Kate smugly remarked as she made quick work of the rope with one slash of her sword. Grabbing hold of Max tightly (and doing her best to not pass out from the proximity), the two plummeted to the ground with a resounding thud as Kate’s boots hit the ground. “Mind if we join?” she carefully set Max down as she pointed her sword in the captor’s direction.  
The captor rose clapped a dry clap. “Not half bad, not half bad.” Her smile curved into a devilish grin as she continued, “Now try this one!” With a quick flick of the wrist, and a snap of her fingers, Max and Kate watched a small, black pebble-sized object plummet to the ground. It bounced three times before rolling steadily in Max and Kate’s direction. Their eyes narrowed as it drew closer, but immediately widened as it quickly and violently exploded, instantly flooding the immediate area with a dense cloud of smoke. Kate coughed as she pulled Max in close and tried desperately to sense their captor.  
  
_‘C’mon, feel it…feel it…’_ Kate took slow, paced breaths. She listened for the subtle crunch of grass, the snapping of branches, anything, but came up empty-handed. And that’s when it dawned on her. She cast her closed glance upwards, and just so faintly she could feel it. _‘Creaking bark…rustling branches…she’s moving down the tree!’_  
She came to the conclusion as the same time as her opponent, as the instant she opened her eyes, she had to make a quick swipe as three deftly thrown knives came hurtling at her. The clang of steel on steel sent shivers down Kate’s spine as she rose to her combat stance. Left foot front, right foot back as the captor broke through the smoke swinging her shortsword. Kate felt an immense opposing force as their blades clashed and she felt herself nearly fall to her feet. She lunged from the right only to be met mid-stride and knocked back once more. She pivoted on her left foot in an attempt to pull her infamous pirouette maneuver, but she felt the hard force of a boot impact the small of her back, sending her rolling. Max screamed as Kate slid several inches before sneakily picking up a clump of dirt and chucking it and her opponent’s face. She brought her arm to her face before bringing it back down and throwing a small group of needles in her direction before stepping back. Kate rolled backwards, just barely dodging the loosely pentagon-shaped barrage and found herself standing directly in front of Max. Kate gripped hard at the hilt of her blade, and the captor adjusted her own grip as she let those limpid pools of cerulean bore a hole in Kate. She was about to make a move when she suddenly stiffened up and stared down in the path a ways. Kate allowed her eyes to stray in that direction, only to lay them upon a small horse drawn carriage, all the way at the end.  
  
The captor clicked her tongue and sheathed her blade. “Oh well, the fight was over anyways…” she remarked in a somewhat bored tone.  
“What?!” Kate growled, locking eyes with her opponent once more.  
“Sorry sweetie, maybe another time, huh?” The captor coyly cooed. “Although here’s a little advice: try using your forearms more.” She wasted no time quickly kicking up a cloud of dirt, and from it burst forth an extravagant and volatile fireball. And from the fireball came small, clumps of spikes that burst and scattered all over the area, barely missing the royal duo. Max and Kate clung to each other as the explosive festivities disappeared in little more than a fraction of a second. Max found herself just in time to look up in the treetops to watch the scoundrel nimbly jumping and swinging from branch to branch. Between her last and second to last branches, she somehow changed her outfit entirely. Max watched her captor disappear into the woods in the guise of beggar’s clothes, but not before watching her look back oh so quickly, to flash Max a cheeky wink. While the audacity made her blood boil, somehow, the brazenness of it all was enough to make Max’s heart skip a beat.  
  
Kate sheathed her blade and rose to her feet. “Are you okay, your Majesty?”  
“‘Am I okay?’ Are you okay?!” Max exclaimed as she gave her friend a quick once over. Apart from a few new scratches and scuffs on her armor, Kate appeared just fine.  
“Well the whole boot to the back thing wasn’t terribly comfortable,” Kate quipped, forcing Max to crack a light smile, “but other than that I’m just fine.” Her glance shifted down the path in the direction their little “visitor” had gone running in. She looked down at the ground, now painted with spikes.  
_‘Caltrops…’_ Kate thought to herself, _’Whoever she is, she’s going the extra mile to make sure we don’t follow her…clever…’_  
She took several steps in that direction as she began, “What’s important now is tracking that woman down and-“  
She was scarcely able to finish her sentence before she collapsed to the ground, face-first. Max rushed to catch her as she fell and laid Kate’s head in her lap. Kate was suddenly shivering, sweating, and her normal calculated breathing pattern was erratic and sharp. Max shook Kate’s face in an attempt to rouse her. “Kate?! Kate!” but to no avail, all Kate could do was groan and hack. Max’s frantic eyes quickly deduced the source of her friend’s distress. Only four needles protruded from the ground. Somehow, Kate had gotten the fifth needle lodged in her neck, just above the nape when she rolled backwards.  
_‘That accuracy…This poison…Those skills’_ a horrified Max thought to herself. She found herself staring off in the direction of her captor. _‘Who…what was that…?’_ Max shook her head and thought to herself, ‘No, there’s time for wistful contemplation later. Right now…’  
It was about then that the rickety old lime green carriage came clattering through. Drawn by two proud horses, one white and one brown, and manned by a dark, portly-looking elven fellow, it came grinding to a halt upon seeing the scene before it.  
“Seven Winds…” the fellow remarked in a resounding baritone, “what happened here?”  
Max quickly pulled her hood over her head as she struggled to carry Kate over to the carriage. “Please!” Max exclaimed, “She’s been poisoned!”  
The carriage driver’s jaw dropped at the pathetic state of Kate. He wasted no time dismounting to come to Max’s aid. As they were hauling Kate to the cart, the driver went to quick work inspecting Kate’s wrists. “We’re lucky, it hasn’t spread too far, but we have to work fast!”  
_“We?!”_ a frantic Max inquired.  
“Yes, _we_! I’m Redbay’s designated apothecary!” the driver shot back as they set Kate gently down in the back amongst the crates and tarps. The duo rushed to the helm as the driver continued, “The poison shouldn’t start corroding her until about ten or twenty minutes from now.”  
_“Corroding?!”_ Max hysterically exclaimed as she glanced back at her knight in scuffed armor. “And you can get us there in less than ten minutes?!”  
“Please, I only need five.” the driver confidently retorted as he cracked the reins and the steeds sprang to life.  
As the wind whipped down her hood and throughout her, Max could only focus on the suffering hero behind her.  
_‘Please…’_ she silently begged. _‘Please…’_

#### 

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_A/N: Please excuse the brevity of this chapter. I’m testing the waters to see if there’s an audience for this type of fiction. If people end up liking it, I’ll gladly write more! Don't be afraid to leave comments, questions or concerns, I love hearing people's feedback on my work!_

_I look forward to hearing your responses!_


	2. Chapter 2 - Drugs and Diseases

Medicine is a bizarre and largely unstudied science within the realm of Arcadia. It wasn’t introduced until around the 780th solar revolution, and wasn’t widely practiced until the 1480th. It began with the first great Doctor Alex Dupont, and his breakthrough cure to rattlelung using a tonic synthesized from the distilled poison of the Dryoptis plant, and Agonite in powder form. Unfortunately, the crude injection method was to pour the fluid into a large wooden bellow that would then be stuck down the patient’s throat and pumped several times directly into their lungs. 

However, a breakthrough came roughly 200 solar revolutions down the road, after the Treaty of Shrouded Truths came to pass between the mages of Pariya and the physicians Weyla. While the treaty remains a large mystery to those not involved (hence the name), the general understanding is that the two factions agreed that to mix their professions would be evil, and shall never be done. In exchange, and with some help from the blacksmithing clans, the two factions forged and popularized the syringe as a sign of goodwill.

Since that time, apothecaries and physicians have popped up in towns all over, each practicing their own special version of medicine with their own unique elixirs, tonics, and potions. 

### 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Alright, now all she needs is some rest, and she should be better within the hour.” The driver (who had come to identify himself as Dr. Blackwell) remarked as he rose from the wooden stool next to Kate’s bed he had perched himself upon. 

After a turbulent carriage ride Max and company had found themselves at Dr. Blackwell’s combination pharmacy he ran out of his cottage on the edge of Redbay. It was a homely little place made entirely of dark cedar-like wood with a dark green roof and a black brick chimney for the fireplace. The front half was set up with row upon row of tonics bottled in glass mason jars lined upon on lacquered shelves that looked exquisitely handmade. Each advertised a cure to some ailment or disease, and included a detailed list of the ingredients scribbled on the bottle in sloppy handwriting. 

If one ventured behind the counter they would find themselves in Dr. Blackwell’s private quarters where the fireplace along with a comfy bed with pale lavender sheets, a desk with many drawers sticky with ink and candle wax, and a disheveled bookshelf whose contents were strewn all over the floor, desk, and even the windowsill in piles and stacks alike. Normally they would be on the bed, too, but given the current occupant, Dr. Blackwell thought it best to put at least part of his best foot forward.

“A thousand apologies by the way, your Majesty.” Dr. Blackwell said as he wandered over to his desk. “Had I known it was you I would’ve gotten us here in a fraction of the time.  
“Oh no no no!” a frantic Max replied as she stood over her guardian, gently stroking her hair. “I’m just happy you were there to help in the first place!” Max carefully examined Kate’s sleeping face. The expression of pain and anguish that painted her face mere minutes ago was now replaced with content and serenity. “Although I must say, I’m impressed you were able to cure her so quickly, it’s as if she was never sick!”  
Dr. Blackwell laughed a raucous, happy laugh and replied, “Please, your Majesty, you flatter me beyond words.”  
“I mean it!” Max reinforced. “The doctors back at the castle would’ve been clueless! How did you do it?”  
Dr. Blackwell adjusted his spectacles and began rummaging through his desk as he spoke. “Well the only reason I was able to even think of doing anything is because I’ve seen that poison before.”  
Max tilted her head to one side in curiosity. “Really? Where?”  
Dr. Blackwell produced a small leather case from one of the middle desk drawers and placed onto the desk. “This is one of the Cardsharp’s favorite routes. I’ve run across plenty of poor souls who have fallen to that poison.”  
“‘The Cardsharp?’” Max repeated, letting each syllable mull around in her mouth.  
Dr. Blackwell slid open the top left desk drawer and produced a small stack of brand-new, slightly stained WANTED posters. He beckoned Max over as he sorted through the stack of unsavory characters before coming to stop at the one that depicted a sketch of the woman Max and Kate had just seen; brilliantly blue hair, deep, piercing eyes, devilishly handsome features, biting her pretty lower lip while flashing a shit-eating grin. 

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

CHLOE “CARDSHARP” PRICE

HT: 5’10 WT: 140LBS AGE: 19 EYE COLOR: BLU

WANTED FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE CROWN INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, GRAND LARCENY AND THEFT, VANDALISM, HOMOSEXUAL PROMISCUITY, UNAUTHORIZED MAGIC USE, AND MULTIPLE COUNTS OF MURDER

SHE IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE, TRUST NO NEW FACES 

APPROACH WITH CAUTION, SUSPECT IS ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

REWARD: 50,000 GOLD DARICS

“She’s regarded by many as the most dangerous criminal this side of the capital.” Dr. Blackwell remarked as Max looked in awe at the list of charges. “No one quite knows where she comes from, or what she wants. Only that she hunts with impunity, using her skills to prey on carriages, shopkeepers, anyone in the Four Factions.” Dr. Blackwell pulled a small plant with thin, egg-shaped leaves and a large dark gold flower. “Know what this is?”  
“It’s a Clifonia blossom.” Max replied. “They grow around the castle all the time, I used to eat their berries sometimes when I was little because they tasted sweet.” Max said with a chuckle.  
Dr. Blackwell smiled at that and continued, “They have certain medicinal properties; they can cure a sore throat or be used in certain cases of pinch-heart.” He lifted the leaves to reveal small stems from which fruits looked like they could bloom. “But it has many other uses, too…some of them rather unsavory.”  
Max felt a small shiver run over her as she inquired, “Such as?”

 

Dr. Blackwell set the leaf down and then pinched his thumb and index finger together. When he pulled them apart, a sticky, golden wax could be seen. “For instance, this wax while serving as a natural defense mechanism, has powerful hallucinogenic properties if smoked or eaten.” He wiped his fingers on his black trousers as he continued, “Some people head south into Vestra where they grow freely to harvest them, then smuggle them back to resell them at inflated rates. That’s why the government began to regulate their sale several revolutions ago.”  
“Wowzers…” a wide-eyed Max remarked as she gazed at the simple plant.

 

Puzzled by the odd word choice, Dr. Blackwell continued regardless. “But the real danger comes in the fruits.” Dr. Blackwell set the plant down and dug around in the small case before producing a mason jar with several rather large berries within. “When they mature, they can be used for a host of elixirs and tonics, it’s in the juices sharp, corrosive properties, it eats away the infection. But once they expire…” Dr. Blackwell set the jar down and began looking for another one. “…their juice can be mixed with the wax to produce…” he pulled out a small jar with a clear liquid that looked almost like water inside. “…this. It’s a delayed reaction poison that eats the victim’s body from the inside out.” Dr. Blackwell shuddered in disgust as he crammed the jar along with the rest of the contents he had produced back into the case and stowed it in its proper drawer.  
“Disgusting…” Max shuddered as she dared to bare the thought of Kate’s rotting body.  
“And that’s not all. She’s dangerous on a whole other scale.” Blackwell remarked. “Her violent witchcraft goes against everything the scholars have set forth!”  
“What witchcraft?” Max inquired. “You mean the fire?”  
“Precisely!” Dr. Blackwell remarked. “No one this side of the capital should know fire magic, it’s forbidden! It makes her a terror on the domestic and national scale!”  
“I mean…it could be worse…” Max remarked. Dr. Blackwell gave her a curious look as she continued, “Uh…you could’ve…eaten some bad baneberries…”  
An awkward silence hung in the room before Dr. Blackwell couldn’t help himself from breaking out in a raucous laughter at the bizarre audacity of the sentence. “Well put, your Majesty!” he roared. “Well put!”  
Amidst the moose calling, Kate found herself slowly shaking herself awake.  
“M-Ma-…” Kate croaked. The duo rushed to her bedside as she managed to utter…”Majesty…” with the faintest of smiles.  
Max inhaled sharply as tears welled up in her eyes. “Kate…” she spoke in an airy voice.  
Dr. Blackwell held his hand above Kate’s gently contorted face. His elven ears twitched as he declared, “Heart rate is normal. Breathing is a little erratic but everything’s flowing fine.” He gave Max a smile as he reassured her, “She’ll be just fine.”  
Max heaved a heavy exhale as Dr. Blackwell continued, “However there are certain things that could be done to speed up the healing process.” as he rose to his feet.  
Max stood at attention as she declared, “If there’s anything I can do, I’ll gladly do it!”  
Dr. Blackwell smiled at Max’s brazen confidence. “Alright, I’ll draw up hot water and brew some baneberry tea. While I do that, run into town and pick up everything on the list in the bag; I can brew an elixir that speeds up the circulation.” Dr. Blackwell handed Max a small pouch of money. The paper list inside crinkled ever so slightly as Max shoved it in her pocket. She double checked that her sword and equipment were all still there. “Oh, and one more thing, if I may.” Dr. Blackwell reached behind Max and sloppily pulled her hood over her head. Max gave him an inquisitive look, to which he responded. “There are those in the city who don’t entirely support the direction in which the throne is shifting. Best for you to not draw any undue attention.”  
“Yes, sir.” Max affirmed.  
Dr. Blackwell gave a satisfied nod and replied, “The shop is in the downtown market half a mile from here, right by the big fountain in town square!”  
“Understood. If I’m not back in 30 minutes, take Kate and leave.” Max said tightened the straps on her boots and rushed out the door.  
Dr. Blackwell swallowed harder than normal as the lithe figure of the Princess vanished and the sturdy wooden door slammed behind her.

 

### 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Redbay Bazaar was a hopping cornucopia of business styles all along the Pariya/Weyla border. Tents of all sizes, shapes, and patterns adorned the pink-and-white causeway. Businessmen/women and entrepreneurs of all ages, races, and sizes wandered the street in their finest linens, wools, and satins, always trying to sell someone on their next great ideas. In the center, where Max found herself right now, shops encircled the opulent pastel pink fountain that spewed cold, refreshing water. 

 

Max quickly found the booth she had been instructed to look for (green with a white and red strip down the center), and wandered herself over where a pale, blue-eyed boy was quick to greet Max.  
“Welcome to Prescott’s Pharmaceuticals Branch 204!” he said with an overly-cheery smile. “I’m Alan, and I’ll be your attendant today! What ails ya?”  
“Oh, no-“ Max meekly responded, “I-I’m not sick, I’m just here to pick up some things for Dr. Blackwell.”  
Max handed Alan the list which he quickly browsed. “Same as last week, I see!” he remarked. His voice reminded Max of the voice puppeteers would use for goofy characters. “I have it all packed in the bag, give me a quick moment!”  
Max took this small break to take in the comfortably busy atmosphere of the marketplace. People stood around all sorts of booths holding conversations, sharing a bite to eat, or searching for some new fascinating doodad amongst the antiques tent. The largest commotion came from an imperial carriage that was currently making its way around the fountain. The two knights on either side in their regal armor and the glint of the crest of the nation of Weyla on the fine wood weighed heavy on Max’s conscience.

 

Max heaved a heavy sigh as she allowed her thoughts to wander. ‘Are there really people amongst these happy folks who would hurt me? What have I done to them?’ Haven’t I always done what’s best for Arcadia?’  
Max didn’t find herself with much time to ponder, as Alan called from behind her, “Packaged and ready.” as he strutted forward with a small wooden crate in his arms. “That’ll be 32 Reunings and 48 coppers.”  
Max handed Alan the pouch which he bounced between two hands before replying, “Yep, all there! Pleasure doing business with you!”  
“You as well!” Max called back as she began walking around the fountain, beginning her long trek back to Blackwell’s.

However, her idea of a peaceful walk was soon interrupted by a blanket of smoke bursting into the center of the crowd. Max felt a familiar shudder run down her spine as she ducked for cover behind the fountain while everyone else quickly evacuated the area.  
“Cardsharp!” the taller of the two guards called out to his partner. “Watch your-AGH!” He screamed in pain as the sound of a blade cleaving flesh and the bubble of blood in a throat echoed from the other side of the carriage. The driver quickly dismounted and drew his sword as the smoke cleared and Chloe’s magnificent figure could be seen on top of the mahogany-hued roof.  
“Drop your weapon!” guard number two commanded while he and his partner stared daggers at their adversary (figuratively and literally).  
Chloe chuckled and shot back, “Well if your rides weren’t so damn overpriced, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place!”  
“Oh, make no mistake, we’ll be taking a ride,” the driver retorted, “all the way back to the imperial prison!” and scoffed.  
“Or the imperial morgue…” Chloe mumbled to herself before she jumped from the roof to the ground with a thud.  
The driver quickly lunged at Chloe but was quickly dodged with a sidestep where Chloe’s blade met that of the other guard’s. She vigorously swatted it aside before taking the moment of opportunity to drive her pitch-black sword into the driver’s chest. The repulsive sound of metal being pierced and meat being skewered echoed across the area while Max watched on in disgust as Chloe used the momentum to swing the driver’s body into his counterparts, sending them both flying back several feet. Chloe quickly scaled the carriage and cracked the reins and the two beautiful, lightly armored brown steeds whinnied to life and dashed off into the horizon, carriage rattling from the speed.  
Somehow, despite the grisly horror before her, Max found her breath stolen by the sheer grace and efficiency Chloe displayed simply by existing.

 

“Someone call the physician!” The other guard called out with panic painting his face. The crowd began to flood back in as he added, “And someone fetch me a carrier pigeon! I need to get an urgent message to Fort Norhall on the double!” While Max found herself making a mad dash for home, she could’ve sworn she heard the guard mumble to himself, “Hey, where did Adrian’s body go…?”  
People scurried to grab the driver while women and children alike brought the wounded soldier hot towels and other amenities, and the men sought to work fetching drinks instead.  
_‘Chloe the Cardsharp…’_ Max thought to herself, holding the crate of goods tighter and tighter to her chest. _‘So bad…so bold…so brash…so…fascinating….’_

 

### 

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_A/N: Thanks for all the support on the previous chapter, guys! Looks like I’m here to stay for a little while! I can’t promise anything regular with the chapter updates, but I hope you guys will continue to enjoy and leave your support and comments, I love reading them!_

_So what will become of Chloe now? What is her endgame? And what will become of poor Kate? Find out next time on One Blue Bird Among Them!_

_Take it easy, and I’ll see you next time!_


End file.
